EJ Hauser, MFASO Lecture

Mat Tomezsko, Now

Thomas Hunter Project Space
930 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY

Through February 23
Opening Reception: February 8, 6-8pm

NOW is a solo exhibition of multimedia paintings by Mat Tomezsko made through an elaborate process of layering, patterning, adding, and subtracting an excessive amount of acrylic, spray paint, and asphalt. The slippery use of language alludes to the various meanings found in the multiple arrangements of letters. It explores the visual dynamic between the words “own”, “won”, and “now”. The letters, colors, symbols, and materials in the paintings are used as abstract elements, and contain associations and resonance outside of the painterly context. The formulation of letters can be seen as a distillation of a timeless truth, about the shifting nature of time, and the relationship between narrative and power.

Refiguring the Future is organized by Eyebeam and REFRESH in collaboration with the Hunter College Art Galleries.Curated by REFRESH collective members Heather Dewey-Hagborg and Dorothy R. Santos, the exhibition title is inspired by artist Morehshin Allahyari’s work defining a concept of “refiguring” as a feminist, de-colonial, and activist practice. Informed by the punk ethos of do-it-yourself (DIY), the 18 artists featured in Refiguring the Future deeply mine the historical and cultural roots of our time, pull apart the artifice of contemporary technology, and sift through the pieces to forge new visions of what could become.